Kansas City

About Kansas City

Population

464,310 in city2,136,653 in metro

Size

812 km² (314 mi²)

Altitude

273.449310303 m

Two hundred years ago Lewis and Clark surveyed and mapped the Louisiana Purchase where Metropolitan Kansas City stretches across 14 counties in two states today. The five largest cities are Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City , Kansas, Overland Park , Olathe , Kansas and Independence , Missouri. At the heart of these is Kansas City, Missouri, also known as "The City of Fountains" and "The Heart of America". Of greatest interest to those who admire skyscrapers, Kansas City ranks among the top ten American cities for Art Deco buildings. The most noted and recognizable include the Kansas City Power & Light Building , 909 Walnut Street , Municipal Auditorium and the four, 350-foot Bartle Hall Pylons atop the Convention Center. Notable new buildings include the World Headquarters Tower for H&R Block Company, the 18,000-seat Sprint Center Arena and the National Association of Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. Conversely to skyscrapers, the world's largest underground business complex - a 50-million sq ft Subtropolis - has been mined out of the natural limestone formations surrounding Metro Kansas City. One of Kansas City's cultural assets is the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, which is home to one of the most acclaimed permanent Asian exhibits in the Western world. Famous Kansas City residents include Artist Thomas Hart Benton, Politician Tom Pendergast, Actress Jean Harlow, Baseball Hall of Famer Satchel Paige, Director/Writer/Producer Robert Altman, the PGA's Tom Watson, Baseball's John "Buck" O'Neill, "New Yorker" magazine columnist Calvin Trillin and Mickey Mouse (born under Walt Disney's hand!).